Sandberg, Susanne

Linnaeus University, School of Business and Economics, Department of Marketing. (Center for International Business Studies on Emerging Markets)

Immonen, Rebecca

Linnaeus University, School of Business and Economics, Department of Marketing.

Kok, Sara

Linnaeus University, School of Business and Economics, Department of Marketing.

2019 (English)In: International Journal of Entrepreneurship and Small Business, ISSN 1476-1297, E-ISSN 1741-8054, Vol. 36, no 1/2, p. 216-241Article in journal (Refereed) Published

Abstract [en]

The global world of today is characterized by movement, both voluntarily and forced. Despite the current situation, few studies have focused on refugees and their entrepreneurial activities. The research question is: how do immigrant entrepreneurs with a refugee background start and run transnational business in their country of residence? The purposes of the paper are (1) to identify the characteristics of the refugee entrepreneur and (2) to examine how the social network is utilized for starting up and running the business. Through this, the scarce understanding of refugee entrepreneurial activities will be enhanced and particular traits of refugee entrepreneurship can be determined. Four cases of immigrant entrepreneurs with a refugee background who conduct business with transnational characteristics have been studied. Consequently, contributions of both theoretical development, integrating refugee entrepreneurship into the field of international business, as well as novel empirical contributions through a less-studied angle on refugee entrepreneurship, are made.